Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (Christopher McQuarrie, 2015)

What's it about? IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has gone rogue (again), this time in pursuit of a shadowy group called The Syndicate. Stunts ensue.

Is it any good? Tom Cruise's latest fat-burning, all-over body workout fitness video is just the ticket for the New Year, as he puts us through our paces with several breathless bursts of strenuous, high intensity activity. A few short rest periods allow Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin to shout encouragement, wisecrack and explain what's happening before we're off again, running, jumping, punching and hanging off planes and motorbikes in an effort to beat the flab. However, despite his best efforts, Tom can't outdo fellow exerciser Rebecca Ferguson, who matches him step for step in the workout stakes, displaying an athleticism and physique that would put Jane Fonda to shame. It's true that in it's muscular efforts to compete with rival fitness videos from Bond and Bourne and many others, it continues to forget the lean characteristics of the original series concept, but that's not to say it's still effective in getting results. Like most fitness workouts, best enjoyed if you don't think about it too much and just enjoy the muscle-flexing and the way the endorphins kick in every time that famous music strikes up.Anything else I should know? It has long been my suspicion that he Mission: Impossible films exist mainly to cater for Cruise's thrill-seeking - in fact, I'm not even sure he realises he's making a film when he's pumped up on adrenaline during his antics. Nonetheless, his insistence of doing most of his own stunts gives those action sequences an undeniable verve. Check out the behind-the-scenes featurette below - that really is him hanging on for dear life to a plane as it takes off. Proof that the man's quite clearly mad.